While financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, MidAmerican likely scored the project at a discount. The once high-flying solar power sector has begun to decline sharply amid a combination of slack demand and massive oversupply. Two high profile U.S. companies -- government-backed Solyndra and Evergreen -- have gone bankrupt, and analysts anticipate more failures ahead.

The Topaz plant, which broke ground last month in California, is one of the two largest solar projects in the world. It's slated to be done by 2015, and is expected to be able to generate enough renewable energy for about 160,000 homes.